Noyce Scholar Profile
Olivia Brown
Undergraduate major or graduate field of study: Mechanical Engineering
Subject area(s) and grade level teaching focus: High School Level Science
Category of scholarship/fellowship:
Noyce Scholar
Name of Noyce institution:
University of Mississippi NSF Robert Noyce "Teachers for a New Tomorrow" Scholarship Program
Current academic or teaching status:
Junior
School and school district:
NA
Background:
I was born and raised in the small town of Collins, MS. I graduated from Collins High School in 2011 as the Valedictorian and Star Student.
Why do you want to teach:
I want to teach because I want to give back to my community, and teaching is the best way I know how. I believe you have to want to teach in order to be successful at it. I want to be able to go back to my home town and prove to the children there that they can do something great with their lives no matter what their background may be. I want to help children better themselves in any way I can.
Describe a memorable teaching experience:
I coach an 11-12 year old summer league softball team in Collins, MS. My first year coaching the team I had a little girl to sign up who had Sickle Cell. She had never been able to play sport because of the disease, but her sister was playing and she wanted to play so bad that her parents signed her up. She was very small and couldn’t catch, hit, or throw on the first practice, but with a little help she was quickly catching on. I worked with her on her throwing, batting, and fielding all year, and on the last game she went up to bat and hit an in-field home run that won the game for us. At that moment I had never been so proud to be her coach. This moment helped me to see that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. Sometimes all you need is someone who is patient and willing to put a little time and effort into you to be able to achieve greatness.
What does the Noyce program mean to you:
This is my first year in the Noyce program, so I have not fully experienced it yet. I am looking forward to this program helping me grow in my experience so that I will be able to pass on my knowledge in a way that sticks and makes an impact on the lives of others. I believe my time in the Noyce program will prove to be extremely beneficial to me.
